Eleanor Deckert
As cancers continue to be diagnosed, research is ongoing, and complimentary therapies gain momentum, this memoir may become even more relevant.Let’s be honest.Nobody wants to hear the word ’cancer.’Everybody knows the standard treatments: surgery, radiation, medication, are intended to save the life of the Body.Yet, they will not save a life if the patient is too overcome with fear to accept treatment.How will the patient: find Facts to steady the Mind? find resources to nourish the Heart? find meaningful ways to encourage the Spirit?Fear: Eleanor could barely see, hear, eat or sleep. So terrified, she considered refusing treatment. Facts: How could one cell gone rogue threaten death? Through research she gained clarity.Fantasy: Counseling saved Eleanor’s life. She developed habits and skills to calm herself enough through complementary care to agree to standard medical care. Faith: What to believe in? Three days before her last radiation appointment, Eleanor found the missing Piece and restored her missing Peace.Why a Second Edition?Since her diagnosis, Eleanor has agreed to interviews, written magazine articles, participated in research and patient feedback groups, and was chosen to speak at the 2024 national conference for the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology, in Calgary, Alberta.Included in this second edition are: links to interviews and articles, charts Eleanor adapted or designed, a prologue and epilogue, as well as Book Club discussion questions and tips for Writing Your Health Journey Memoir. The new introduction and recommendation are written by a radiation therapist.Readers discover Eleanor’s coping skills: Visualizing a scene. Meditating on words of wisdom. Sketching and Journaling. Holding symbolic objects. Comfort and confidence from nature, friends, gifts, and the steady reliability of her husband, Kevin.
